Bucks’ Connaughton more than just #LetPatDunk

Welcome to the 2020-21 edition of the Bucks Weekly Spotlight. Each Thursday, we’ll track the progress of the players who are trying to help Milwaukee make a championship run and give updates on other players from the previous week.

This is the 7th edition of the 2020-21 Bucks Weekly Spotlight.

SPOTLIGHT ON …

Guard Pat Connaughton

Let Pat … shoot?

With Jrue Holliday sidelined, Connaughton’s minutes increased the past week. Tuesday against Toronto, he played a season-high 31:21 — the first time he’d reached 30 minutes this year — and he scored 20 points.

That might not seem like much, especially on a team which features Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, but it was the most points Connaughton has scored in his three seasons with Milwaukee and was just the second time in his career he reached 20.

Connaughton’s previous high with the Bucks was 18 points vs. Portland on No. 21, 2019. His career high is 24 for Portland at Phoenix on Oct. 18, 2017.

Against the Raptors, Connaughton made four 3s, one off his personal best, and finished 8-of-15 from the floor overall. The 15 field-goal attempts were a career high and the eight makes one off his best of nine, set in his 24-point outing.

In addition, Connaughton blocked three Toronto shots, which tied his career best, which he did with the Bucks at Denver on Nov. 11, 2018.

Connaughton remains a high-energy player who, at 6-foot-5 with incredible leaping ability, is a good rebounder. He had five boards against Toronto and seven at Oklahoma City on Sunday. He’s at 7.2 rebounds per 36 minutes and has been at that rate or higher now in each of his three seasons with Milwaukee after reaching that mark just once in his first three NBA seasons with Portland.

Yes, let Pat dunk. But he can do other things, too, as he demonstrated this past week.

PATTY C TAKES OFF 🚀#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/8BVGFTMbeg

— FOX Sports Wisconsin (@fswisconsin) February 17, 2021

BUCKSHOTS

— This week in Giannis: In three games, Antetokounmpo had a triple-double and two double-doubles. Against Toronto on Tuesday, he had 34 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, a season-high five steals and two blocks. Basically, he continues to fill up the statistical sheet.

— Bobby Portis has four straight double-digit scoring games despite playing fewer than 25 minutes in three of them. Portis made 2-of-3 3-point attempts in each of his last two games and is now hitting on a 48.4% rate from behind the arc, which would easily be a career high (39.3% in 2018-19) and quite the improvement from last year when he played for New York (35.8%). Portis is currently fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and 17th in field-goal percentage (55.6%).

— Two-way signed Mamadi Diakite hasn’t gotten a chance with Milwaukee yet, but he’s making good of his time with the Lakeland Magic of the G League. Coming off the bench, Diakite had games this past week with 20 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes, 16 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes and 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. The 6-9 Diakite was signed by the Bucks to a two-way contract after he went undrafted out of Virginia.